A former national leader of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to defrauding congregations across California out of millions of dollars.
Over four years, Staccato Powell, a bishop of the AME Zion Church who was appointed in 2016 to lead the church’s Western Episcopal District, convinced congregations in Oakland, San Jose, Vallejo, Palo Alto, and Los Angeles to transfer deeds to their church properties to a private company he and an associate, Sheila Quintana, controlled.
The company then took out millions of dollars in high-interest loans, using the properties as collateral…